Italian Communist Party (English spelling) Partito Comunista Italiano

Japanese: イタリア共産党 - いたりあきょうさんとう（英語表記）Partito Comunista Italiano

An Italian communist party. Abbreviated as PCI. Founded in 1921 as an Italian branch of Comintern (Third International) after splitting off from the Socialist Party. Disbanded in 1926 when the Fascist government banned political parties. After Gramsci and many other leaders were imprisoned or defected, the party ceased organizational activities. However, just before the end of World War II, the party played an active role as a leading member of the resistance movement, and based on that experience, it played a decisive role in Italian politics as the largest opposition party after the war. However, the party was dissolved immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and most of the reformists belonged to the "Left Democratic Party," while the opposition parties established a new "Reconstituted Communist Party."

[Toshio Shibata]

Polycentrism and Historical Compromise

In 1944, Togliatti returned from exile in Moscow and started to create a mass party, the "New Party." At the same time, the party adopted a peaceful revolution method centered on the parliament, and eventually, at the 8th Party Congress in December 1956, a basic platform was compiled entitled "The Italian Way to Socialism." It was as follows:
(1) "Polycentrism" which rejects the idea that Soviet socialism is the only model and instead asserts the diversity of socialism
(2) The main pillar of the Italian Socialist state was the need for "structural reforms" from below based on the broad consensus of the people, which has been consistently inherited by the party ever since, and has also influenced Japan's progressive parties in various ways. In 1973, General Secretary Berlinguer presented a more flexible "historical compromise" approach, stating that compromises with conservative forces were necessary to gain power, and that Western European socialism must be built above all on the basis of freedom, including the recognition of a multi-party system, and he made clear his position as a standard-bearer of "Eurocommunism." After winning an unprecedented 34.4% of the votes and 227 seats in the general election of June 1976, he cooperated with the Christian Democratic Party (DC) government from outside the cabinet until January 1979, but did not achieve any notable results. As dissatisfaction among lower-ranking party members grew, a review of Berlinguer's "historical compromise" approach to participate in a responsible government, inspired by the lessons of the Chilean Revolution, became virtually inevitable. This was compounded by the kidnapping and assassination (March 1978) of Aldo Moro, a Christian Democrat leader and former prime minister, who was the only politician who could act as a bridge to the Italian Communist Party.

[Toshio Shibata]

Political isolation and decline

Thus, in the 1980s, the Italian Communist Party shifted from its "historic compromise" line to a "democratic alternative" line (adopted at the party congress in 1983) that opposed DC rule by allying with progressive democratic forces (especially the Socialist Party), and showed support for EC (European Community) integration, while also moving away from the Soviet Union (opposing the invasion of Afghanistan and criticizing the military intervention in Poland), but was generally perceived as continuing its compromise line in practice. With the formation of a five-party coalition government led by Socialist Party leader Craxi in 1983, the Italian Communist Party was isolated. Although it won 34.4% of the vote in the 1984 EC parliamentary election, surpassing the Christian Democratic Party's 33.6%, a clear prospect did not easily open up for the Italian Communist Party.

Meanwhile, the Italian economy in the mid-1980s was booming, so much so that it was called a golden age, and the shift towards a mass consumer society became evident. A notable feature of opinion polls conducted around this time was the growing disinterest in politics among young people. Voters' political consciousness also rapidly changed and diversified, and labor unions began to avoid strikes. With each general election, the Italian Communist Party suffered a decline in its share of the vote and its ability to attract votes.

[Toshio Shibata]

Reforms and name change

The upheavals that followed, beginning with Gorbachev's perestroika (reconstruction) in 1985 and the de-socialization of Eastern European countries, and ending with the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989, forced the Italian Communist Party to reform in order to survive. This difficult task was finally completed under General Secretary Achille Occhetto (1936- ) over a period of 15 months from the end of 1989, after two party congresses. Occhetto had previously attempted to rejuvenate the party leadership and then embarked on the reforms, but he was unable to unite the veteran Costta faction, who maintained the legitimacy of Marxism and opposed party reforms until the very last minute, and the party was resolved by a majority vote of about 68%. Thus, at the 20th party congress in 1991, the Italian Communist Party changed its name to the Left Democratic Party Partito Democratico della Sinistra (abbreviated as PDS), bringing an end to its 70-year history.

[Toshio Shibata]

"Verification of the Transformation of the Italian Communist Party" by Kuni Uemura (1999, Shinsensha) " "The Italian Communist Party and the Formation of Postwar Democratic Systems" by Kaoru Yamada (2002, CAB Publishing) " "Dialogue with the Italian Communist Party" by Napolitano Hobsbawm, translated by Isao Yamazaki (Iwanami Shinsho)" "The Italian Communist Party" by Toshio Shibata (Kyouikusha Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

イタリアの共産主義政党。略称PCI。1921年社会党から分派、コミンテルン（第三インターナショナル）のイタリア支部として結成された。1926年ファシスト政府の政党禁止令によって解散。グラムシをはじめ多くの幹部の投獄や亡命によって、以後、党の組織活動はとだえた。しかし第二次世界大戦の終わる直前、抵抗運動の主役として活躍し、その体験を元に、戦後野党第一党としてイタリアの政治に決定的な役割を果たした。しかし、1989年ベルリンの壁崩壊直後に解党し、改革派の大部分は「左翼民主党」に属し、反対派は「再建共産党」を新たにおこした。

［柴田敏夫］

多中心主義と歴史的妥協

1944年亡命先のモスクワから帰国したトリアッティによって大衆政党型の「新しい党」づくりが進められると同時に、議会を中心とする平和革命方式が採用され、やがて1956年12月の第8回党大会で「社会主義へのイタリアの道」と題する基本綱領がまとめられた。それは、
(1)ソビエト社会主義を唯一のモデルとすることを否定し、社会主義の多様性を主張する「多中心主義」
(2)イタリア社会主義国家の建設には幅広い国民大衆の合意に基づく下からの「構造的諸改革」の必要
を主たる柱としており、それ以後同党に一貫して継承されると同時に、日本の革新政党にも種々の影響を与えた。1973年ベルリングエル書記長は、より柔軟な「歴史的妥協」路線を提示し、政権獲得のためには保守勢力とも妥協する必要があり、また西欧社会主義は、複数政党制を認めるなどなによりも自由を基礎にして建設されなければならないとする「ユーロコミュニズム」の旗手としての立場を鮮明にした。1976年6月総選挙で前例のない得票率34.4％、227議席を獲得した後、1979年1月までキリスト教民主党（DC）政府に閣外協力したが、目だった成果を得られなかった。下部党員の不満が高まるなか、チリ革命の教訓に触発されたベルリングエルの責任ある政府に参加するための「歴史的妥協」路線の見直しは、事実上必至とみられるようになる。これに追打ちをかけたのは、キリスト教民主党の長老であり元首相のアルド・モーロの誘拐・暗殺事件（1978年3月）である。モーロは、イタリア共産党との橋渡しをする唯一の政治家だったからである。

［柴田敏夫］

政治的孤立と減退

こうして1980年代のイタリア共産党は、「歴史的妥協」路線から、進歩的民主勢力（とくに社会党）と提携してDC支配に対抗する「民主的オルタナティブ」路線（1983年党大会で採択）に転換し、EC（ヨーロッパ共同体）統合にも理解を示し、またソ連離れを強めていくが（アフガニスタン侵攻反対、ポーランド軍事介入批判）、実質的には妥協路線を継続するものと大方には受け取られた。1983年、社会党クラクシ党首の率いる5党連立政権の誕生によって、イタリア共産党は孤立した。1984年にはEC議会選挙で34.4％を獲得し、キリスト教民主党の33.6％を超えたものの、イタリア共産党にとって明確な展望は容易に開けなかった。

　一方、1980年代中葉のイタリア経済は、黄金の時期といわれるほど好況にわき、大衆消費社会化が顕著となり、このころの世論調査で目だったのは、若年層の政治離れ、無関心層の増大であった。有権者の政治意識も急速に変容、多様化し、またストライキを回避する労働組合もみられるようになった。総選挙のたびに、イタリア共産党は得票率を下げ、集票力の減退に悩んだ。

［柴田敏夫］

改革と党名変更

1985年のゴルバチョフのペレストロイカ（建て直し）に始まる東欧諸国の脱社会主義化、1989年のベルリンの壁撤去に至る大変動は、否応なくイタリア共産党に「存続のための」改革を迫ることとなる。この困難な大事業は、書記長のオケットAchille Occhetto（1936―　）の下、1989年末から15か月にわたり、2回の党大会を経てようやく終わった。オケットはあらかじめ党指導部の若返りを図ったうえで改革に取り組んだが、マルクス主義の正当性を主張し、直前まで党改革に反対した古参のコスッタ派をまとめえず、約68％の多数決をもって決着した。こうして1991年の第20回党大会で、イタリア共産党は党名を左翼民主党Partito Democratico della Sinistra（略称PDS）に改め、70年におよぶ歴史に幕を閉じた。

［柴田敏夫］

『植村邦著『イタリア共産党転換の検証』（1999・新泉社）』▽『山田薫著『イタリア共産党と戦後民主体制の形成』（2002・シーエービー出版）』▽『ナポリターノ・ホブズボーム著、山崎功訳『イタリア共産党との対話』（岩波新書）』▽『柴田敏夫著『イタリア共産党』（教育社新書）』